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Sunday, 31 July 2011

So life has been dull. I've been working on my dissertation day in, day out. I can't believe I'm putting myself through this torture, again. After my undergraduate degree, I swore never to go back to school, but look where I am now. The worst bit is that I've already written a dissertation for my undergrad, so this is my second one. Once was enough to nearly kill me, why I'm doing another one I've no idea. This Master's better land me a high-flying job where I can just bum around sipping overpriced coffee and occasionally sign a document or two. I kid. Even people with a Permanent head Damage are out of work these days, what more little ol' me. Sighhh

I wore this when I went out with a few of my friends for the second day of Tramlines Festival. I was really dressed down and just wore plimmies. My friends (wrongly) predicted that I would dress up (because I overdress sometimes haha) so they all wore heels. One girl even wore one that was about 5 inches! Luckily, I decided to throw on some accessories at the last minute, so I wasn't too shabby, I don't think. I think this is about the only way I can wear a usamimi headband without feeling overly cutesy. Keep everything simple and add a pop of bright red on the top of my head. Nice!

As you can guess, this post was rather pointless other than to bombard you with photos of me, me, me. You're probably thinking, "What on earth?? She's wearing a white tee and some shorts! Surely that doesn't deserve an entire post of its own" And you're right, so let me show you my nails. Ta-dah!

Friday, 29 July 2011

Today, I'll be reviewing the GEO Bella Brown circle lenses.
Disclosure: These lenses were sponsored by Shoppingholics, a Malaysian-based online store that sells circle lenses, fashion accessories and other beauty and body care products. Shoppingholics did not dictate what should or should not be in this review and thus this is written based on my honest opinions.

The parcel took just slightly over a week to arrive. As always, their packaging is uber cute and very secure. Everything was posted in a bubble envelope, of course, but the vials were also stored inside this tiny little box with extra bubble wrap. As I was ripping the envelope, I was super keen to see which cute animal lens case I got. The feeling is a bit like opening a Kinder Suprise egg *wink*

Comfort: 4/5
As I do for all my circle lenses, I soaked my lenses overnight before I wore them for the first time. For some reason, the first day I wore them, I couldn't wear them for longer than 3 hours before my eyes started feeling dry. However, it got better the next day and now, I can wear them for 6-8 hours without any problems. I don't experience any discomfort within this period, but any longer and my eyes will start to feel really dry.

Enlargement: 3/5
As these are only 14.0mm in diameter, I didn't expect them to have much of an enlarging effect, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that it did make my eyes look brighter. True, the enlargement effect is not as big as the 15.0, 16.0, 17.0mm ones, but it definitely enlarged my irises. I like the fact that the ring around the lenses are dark brown in colour because it definitely blends in better and looks more natural like that.

Colour: 2/5
*note that a 5/5 score would mean that the colour's very obvious even while indoors*
I have naturally very dark brown eyes and I've been told that apparently, my irises are darker in comparison to most Asians. These lenses made my irises a lighter shade of brown. The brown is more obvious in daylight, but still looks very natural, in my opinion. Indoors, the brown can be seen under certain lighting.

How much do I like them? 4.5/5

Without flash (facing the window)

With flash

Note the difference

When asked to select a pair of circle lenses I wanted to review, I went straight for the browns because I was on the lookout for a pair that gave my eyes that subtle hint of colour and one with a little bit of an enlargement effect. As you guys know, I'm a minimalist when it comes to makeup, but a lot of circle lenses look best when worn with full eye makeup, including false eyelashes. I used to own a few pairs that were 14.5mm diameter and those I saved for nights out when I could occasionally (rarely) force myself to doll up. I love the whole gyaru look and I admire how pretty some girls look, but I know that for lazy me, I need something more for everyday wear.

Are you ready for some vain selca pics?

Without flash (indoors)

With flash (indoors)

Without flash (facing the window)

I own (and have owned) many pairs of circle lenses, but these GEO Bella Brown lenses have certainly become one of my favourite pairs because of how natural they look. Also, I think they kind of match my hair!

I hope that this review was useful especially for girls who want to go for a more subtle and natural look for daytime. If you're as lazy as me, then these lenses are perfect for you :)

When you think of British summers, what comes to mind? Well, yes, besides the sweltering heat...music festivals, of course!

The Tramlines Festival happened over the weekend! For those who've never heard of it, it's an annual music festival held in my city. It lasts for three whole days and last year, 125,000 people reportedly flooded into the city from all over the UK. It's certainly no Glastonbury, but hey, it's completely FREE!

I love, LOVE the fact that the boyf and I live so close to everything. The main stage (Concert in the Park) was just behind my apartment. I literally could have shuffled down first thing in the morn in my PJs and Mario mushroom slippers. But as much as I wanted to, I refrained and threw on some decent things.

Friday, 22 July 2011

A couple of months ago, Wholesale-dress.net (Note: there is another dot com with the same name) had a pretty decent offer; $15 off if you spent above $50. I took the opportunity to do a test order.

I admit I was very hesitant about purchasing from WD because they have a lot of negative reviews. Just do a quick search on Google or YouTube and you'll be able to find these reviews. Of course, they do have some good reviews, too, otherwise I wouldn't have risked purchasing from them. I read, watched and compared A LOT of these haul reviews before finally deciding to make payment. The thing is, I really, really, REALLY wanted this particular asymmetric skirt which I couldn't find on AFW. Can you guess which skirt I'm talking about? Yeap, the skirt I wore here*click* and here*click*.

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Here's my Wholesale Dress haul review.

*Ratings are based on the quality, the price and how much I like the item.

When reviewing, I keep in mind how much I paid for the item and if the material/workmanship (a few loose threads are not a problem to me) is worth it. Then, I think about whether the item is actually wearable.

The original stock photos are on the left and my photos are on the right. All photos were taken right after I opened the package so please excuse the crumples. However, this review was written after washing and wearing all the clothes at least once*

Fashion Semi-circle Chiffon Vest Watermelon Red
Rating: 7/10
Review: I purchased 2 of these vests, one in this watermelon red and one in black. In terms of colour and the scalloped edge, the vests looks pretty much like the stock photo.
As you can see, the material is very different, though. Still, I like it very much as it reminds me of the ones from Topshop (only much cheaper). The vests are also pretty sheer. I mentioned that a few loose threads were not a problem to me, but this one had a lot of it sticking out (I snipped them off before the picture was taken).
I wore it here*click*

Fashion Design Solid Color Swallow-tailed Chiffon Skirt Black
Rating: 9/10
Review: The skirt looks exactly like the stock photo. I don't know if you can see from my photo, but there is a little metal button right at the bottom (the part with the longest hem). You can fold it up to your waist and fasten the button to turn it into a short skirt.
One complaint is that the inner lining is way too short.
I wore it here*click* and here*click*.

Fashion Rivet Embellished High Waist Dress Sapphire Blue
Rating: 7/10
Review: The skirt looks exactly like the stock photo.
However, I'm very surprised with the sizing because it's actually too loose around the waist for me. A lot of wholesale clothing runs small, so I really did not expect that. Oh well, better too big than too small.

Multilayered Exquisite Knitted Hollow-out Flower Pantskirt
Rating: 8/10
Review: Ok, my photo doesn't really do the lace crochet any justice, but it looks pretty much like the stock photo. It's really quite pretty and very feminine.
Sadly, I can barely zip it up and I really don't have the legs to pull it off. Sometimes I forget that I no longer possess the hips and waist of a young girl, but one of an OL. The only reason I can think of as to why I purchased these must be as they say in Cantonese, "gwai yum ngan" (literal translation: ghost close eyes). I must have been momentarily blinded or something.
The low rating is due to the provided hip measurements being inaccurate. I would have given it an even lower score, but I must be fair and say it would look good on someone thinner than me.

Gold Buttons Embellished Chiffon Shirt White
Rating: 5/10
Review: It looks pretty much like the stock photo and the material is pretty comfy, but unfortunately, the collar is very high. I'm not sure if it's a sewing defect, but it really does look a bit awkward when worn. To give you a rough idea, if the model had worn the shirt I got, the collar would have been where her necklace is. The shirt is also pretty sheer.

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That concludes my WD haul review. As you can see, I ordered mostly basics and simple tops because I didn't want to risk getting horrible quality stuff.

From personal experience, I have to say that WD's customer service is not exactly top-notch. It took more than a week for my items to be posted out. In this week, I would often use their livechat service to check if everything I ordered was in stock. Every time, they would assure me that everything was in stock. On the 5th day, I receive an email to tell me that one of the items was out of stock -.-

Since I couldn't find a replacement, they just refunded my money...NOT into my Paypal account, but on to my WD account! Wha...?? Since it's only a couple of dollars, I have not chased it up (mainly because I can't be bothered to go through the whole process). I might use the store credit in the future, who knows.

That's not the worst bit, though. Their staff would often leave me hanging in the middle of a query so that I've to go, "Hello? Are you still there?". I would always patiently wait about 5 to 10 mins before nudging them, so you can imagine a simple stock query like that could take an hour. Also, I disliked how they refused to give me an exact date or even an approximation as to when my package will be sent out. Answers like "soon" are simply not acceptable. Soon to you may be more than a week, but soon to me sounds like the next day.

Postage-wise, I had no problems once it actually left their warehouse. I did my math and decided to opt for a quicker, but more expensive postage method (JCEX) to ensure my package wouldn't get lost in the post. The package took only a few days to arrive, which is super fast considering it's posted all the way from China (to the UK).

If I were to judge solely on my first experience purchasing from WD, I'd say I'm quite satisfied with them. I'm quite lenient in my ratings because I always keep in mind how much I paid for the items (less than £7 each, including postage). I suppose I will buy from them again if they have something I really want.

I have never done a feature interview before so when the lovely Lyndsey from a lovely little blog emailed me to ask if I would like to be featured on her blog, I grinned widely from ear to ear. I was eager to accept the interview questions, but was also worried that I wouldn't give interesting answers nor express myself well enough. Still, I challenged myself as I felt that this was a great opportunity to let people know a bit more about me and my blog. As soon as I put aside my worries, I thoroughly enjoyed answering the questions.

If you're interested in finding out exactly when I started to care about what I wore, how blogging has helped me or even if you simply just love reading my ramblings, you can read the blog feature here*click*.

Tuesday, 19 July 2011

No, no, come back! You Are at the right blog. Haha I made some minor changes to my blog, incase you were wondering. Besides finally installing Disqus for my commenting system, I also did some tweaking here and there. I'm still not quite satisfied with the layout, but it will do for now.

The biggest change is perhaps moving my sidebar from the right to the left. It probably doesn't matter, but the longer I stared at my blog, the more I felt the sidebar should be moved.But you know what's funny? Now I'm beginning to feel I should move it back -.-

Tiered dress: H&M

Cardigan with hearts: Unknown

Once Upon a Time necklace: Dorothy Perkins

Leather satchel: ASOS.com

Plimmies: Primark

Any-jimmy-who, I went to a craft fair over the weekend. You may remember I posted about one I went to, a couple of months before*click*. This time, it was a rather small one so I didn't take that many photos. Here's 3 to share...

Monday, 18 July 2011

Remember the necklace I wore in this post*click*? I was very happy that many of you ladies commented on how cute it was. Well, I had another brand new one and figured I'll give it away to you lovelies!

"Dany from Nany’s Klozet and I (Flor) decided to start something called “I challenge you to…”. In this weekly special, we challenge our readers and bloggers around the globe to wear specific trends- and we would love if you could join us. Every Tuesday we’ll publish next week’s challenge, on Mondays: we’ll show you how we wear the trend and you’ll be able to share your link & outfit her on my blog. You can also upload your pictures to Nany’s Klozet Facebook or Flor de Maria Fashion Facebook. We were inspired by “Bloggers do it better” but we want to give our own twist to it!"

My AM-to-PM photo looks like a Before-After photo haha. I think I look quite frumpy in the AM shot (you don't have to tell me otherwise), but it doesn't matter because I only went to the library. To change to my PM outfit, I just took off the sweater, changed my shoes and let down my hair. Oh, there is a small button on the skirt, so I could fold it up like I did in the AM outfit and then let it down for the PM outfit.

I currently have a love-hate relationship with this skirt (which I also wore a couple of posts back*click*). I love the asymmetric cut of it and the way it flows is just perfect. However, it has the same problem as most of my other wholesale purchases; the inner lining is indecently short! Wearing safety shorts will solve the problem, I suppose, but I sometimes don't like how the shorts are visible due to the short hems in the front. Also, it's a tad too tight so the waistband tends to ride up when I move. I keep having to tug my skirt down and that's not very lady-like, I don't think.

Anywayz, my PM outfit was for a dinner date with the boyf at an Italian restaurant. Being poor students, we decided to exercise our right in using meal-deal coupons *not shy*. I had scallops for starters and that was divine, but my mains were a major disappointment. My pollo risotto was wayyy too salty and the chicken was too dry. I'm no food connoisseur, but I've definitely had better.